The Free Association

The Free Association was founded as a performance group in 2014 by Austentatious cast member Graham Dickson and sketch comedy duo Max and Ivan; alongside Nell Mooney, Jessica Ransom, Freya Parker and Joseph Morpurgo.

The group grew to become a theatre and school, hosted shows and classes at their main theatre above the De Beauvoir Arms in Haggerston, London and the Lord Stanley in Camden, London from 2015 to 2025. They also toured shows to Soho Theatre, Underbelly Boulevard and Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Dickson served as Artistic Director of the theatre until 2022, succeeded by Naomi Petersen until 2024.^[3] Since 2025, the theatre has been programmed by an Artistic Committee, composed of Katharine Bennett-Fox, Sam Roulston and Briony Redman.

After 11 years operating from a fringe venue in East London, The FA opened its first permanent venue in London, UK, in October 2025. The arts venue, based on Old Union Yard Arches in Southwark, South London, features a café, bar and 104-seat theatre.^[4] Opening on the 16th of October, The Free Association's venue is a home for improv and alternative comedy in the UK.

As the UK's equivalent^[5] to American improv theatres UCB, IO and The Second City, the FA primarily performs long-form improvisation.^[6] The FA's main focus is the "game of the scene", the Harold, and narrative improvisation.^[7]

The following shows perform regularly at The Free Association, mainly comprising graduates and current students.^[8]

The theatre also hosts ensemble shows performed by players from the House Teams. These include Jacuzii, The Ladies of FA County and Uncle Glen's Menagerie.^[13] Previous guest residencies included other London-based acts Do Not Adjust Your Stage, The Petting Zoo and Sorry.^[13][14] Jacuzii was performed at The Pleasance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 2015 to 2018.^[15][16][17]

The Free Association performed a live version of Drunk History (UK TV series) at Comedy Central LIVE, a three-day festival at Southampton’s Hoglands Park on 2018,^[18] with special guests Joel Dommett, Nish Kumar and Iain Stirling.

Mirroring established improv formats such as the Upright Citizens Brigade's ASSSSCAT, The Free Association's headline show Jacuzii, and other 'special guest' shows, welcome a guest monologist, whose truthful monologue provides the inspiration for a series of scenes. Previous guest monologists and performers include: Ralf Little, Nish Kumar, Oliver Chris, Tom Rosenthal, Phil Wang, Rachel Parris, Cariad Lloyd, Mae Martin, Steen Raskopoulos, Brett Goldstein, Rose Matafeo, Sindhu Vee, Matt Jones, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Neil Casey and Jason Mantzoukas.

The FA performer training programme takes place over 6 levels and focuses on learning "The Harold", a form created by Del Close.^[19] The Free Association also provides improvisation training for businesses, focusing on communication and collaboration.^[20] In 2025, The Times reported on the company’s corporate training, highlighting workshops for South Western Railway apprentices that used improvisation techniques to build confidence, teamwork, and communication skills.^[21]

The Free Association's Michael Orton-Toliver and Chris Gau created the part-improvised "retro-scripted" comedy^[22] mockumentary Borderline for Channel 5 in 2016. The show features a number of Free Association-trained performers^[23] and was directed by Breaking Bad's Matt Jones.

Performers Ian Thomas Day, Chris Gau and Shaun Lowthian created the improvised character comedy podcast Fact Up in 2015.^[24][25] Now running to over 150 episodes, the podcast featured on BBC Radio 4 Extra's Podcast Radio Hour in 2018, chosen by comedian Cariad Lloyd.^[26]

Performer Freya Slipper created and wrote Audible musical Crush Hour in 2022, with additional material by fellow performer Doug Crossley.^[27]

Kayleigh Llewellyn created In My Skin, winning Best Television Drama at the 2019 BAFTA Cymru Awards, and Best Television Drama and Best Writer at the 2022 British Academy Television Awards. She was also named as one of BAFTA's Breakthrough Brits in 2019.^[28]

Performer Jim Archer directed feature film Brian and Charles in 2022, receiving a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.^[29]

Performer Ambika Mod appeared in a leading role in HBO and BBC TV series This Is Going To Hurt in 2022,^[30] and Netflix series One Day in 2023.

Performer Liz Kingsman was nominated for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards for her show One Woman Show at Soho Theatre. The show was also nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2022.^[31]

Performer Haley McGee was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards for Age Is A Feeling at Soho Theatre. Performer and writer Waleed Akhtar won in the same category for The P Word at Bush Theatre.^[32]

Performer Shaun Lowthian was nominated for Best Online Comedy at the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards in 2019, for short-film Spokke.^[33]

In 2021, The Guardian featured The Free Association's improv classes in a range of articles on activities to get out of your comfort zone.^[34]